This past weekend my sister and I went to Florida to just hang and chill out. Plans were made originally in January and I couldn't believe when I purchased my ticket that I was going to be enjoying myself in FLORIDAAAAAA in the first week of March. I was anticipating it like a little child and I just couldn't wait for the big day. Even though I waited until the night before to do my packing. We left Friday morning and after 2 flights made our way to Jacksonville, FL by noon. What greeted us was 40 degree weather with a rainy disposition.
We make our way to our rental and shortly thereafter we make it to our hotel. We stayed at the Marriot Sawgrass which is known to the PGA pros. We were there for a previous family reunion and since we enjoyed the accommodations my sister made reservations for our stay to be there again. What is great about this hotel is that there is an option to stay within the hotel or on the grounds in a villa. So this time around we decided on the villa. After making our way to our particular villa we find out that the electricity is turned off in the main part of the room. So after the engineers come through and rectify that issue we make our way to St. Augustine and take in an outlet mall and then to the historic part of St. Augustine to take in some dinner at a location called Harry's Seafood Bar and Grill. This restaurant had a great ambiance and the food was wonderful. I enjoyed some Voodoo Shrimp as an appetizer followed by Pasta Chicken Louisianne. Which I can only describe as a Creole version of a Feteccine Alfredo with some kick to it. It was AMAZING!!! Now the funny thing is that I normally can't handle spicy food, but THIS was well worth it. After our dinner we made our way back to our hotel where one of my best friends was going to meet up with me.
My girlfriend Kai picked me up that evening along with her family and we made the two hour trek back to her home in Deltona that night. I was so excited to see my girl you have NO IDEA!!! That night we just stayed up and enjoyed ourselves. Talking and just reminiscing about the times. The next day we made our way to my god-daughter's dance performance. She is truly an amazing and exceptional child. Her mannerisms remind me so much of myself. Her younger sister reminds me of my younger sister, she is definitely a little diva, I LOVE IT and their little brother has an imagination out of this world!!!
After her performance we check out (I think) every Homegoods and Marshall in Florida. LOL Which I had a blast doing because I was able to find my dream gold leaf that I wanted to update for my vendor table with my shea butter products. I packed it in my suitcase and I'm proud to say it made it's way back to Saint Louis without any issue. I also was able to visit my first IKEA store and I have to say it is everything plus a bag of CHIPS!!!!
OMG this place is HEAVEN ON EARTH!!!! We did the complete walk through so I could check out everything and I now I can't WAIT for the IKEA to open here in Chesterfield.
We also hit up a Burlington Coat factory where I found a church outfit to wear the next day. After checking a few more Homegoods we make our way back to their home and enjoy some really great pizza, Krispy Kreme doughnuts and a few glasses of wine. The kiddies go to bed and Kai, James (her husband) and I are just sitting on the couch talking, enjoying our wine and just having a great conversation.
The next morning we get ready for church and I was ready to go and then unfortunately I stubbed my toe. It was bleeding like crazy for about 15 minutes and couldn't get it to stop until I was able to get some heavy gauze around it and Kai was able to put some medical tape around it.
Church service was great and I really felt as though the sermon was speaking specifically for me. His sermon was bout how you can feel like you are sinking without drowning. It actually brought tears to my eyes because I can relate so strongly to the words he was preaching. Afterwards I was invited to a room where they had refreshments and was able to meet with the pastor briefly. I can definitely see why Kai and James fellowship there. It was definitely a place of warmth.
Afterwards we went and picked up some items for lunch and made our way back to their home to take a few pictures and settle down before it was time for them to drop me back off at the airport.
I arrive back to the airport and say my goodbyes to Kai, James and the children. My sister texts me to let me know she already at the airport and we make our way to our terminal. After a two hour flight we make our way to Houston, Texas where the last leg of our trip will have us back to Saint Louis. We finally make it back home around 11:45pm. I had work this morning so I had to be up by 6am. I had a wonderful time and I can't wait to go back.
Until the next episode....
All That MsJazz
